Kahului, Maui – The University of Hawaii - Maui College Baseball Club held
off Team Pono to win their Open Baseball League inaugural game, 11 - 9.

Approximately
50 fans, family and friends gathered on the windy Sunday morning to take in the
2012 league opener.

Kyle
Watanabe led UHMC at the plate going 2 for 3, driving in 3 runs.Watanabe broke a 4-4 tie by leading off the 8th
inning with a solo home run to left field. The homer started up a 4-run inning
by the UHMC bats. Watanabe also
delivered in the 9th inning with a 2 RBI single.Those runs would be critical as UHMC gave up
3 runs in the bottom of the 8th and 9th.

On the
mound, Brandon Crowe pitched a stellar 4 1/3 innings surrendering only 4 hits
and 4 walks while striking out 7 and allowing 2 earned runs.Kalei Hendershot, the 2012 Division 2 Maui Interscholastic League MVP, picked
up the save.

The University of Hawaii - Maui College Baseball Club takes
on Soljahs next on Sunday July 1st at Makawao’s Eddie Tam Field at 10am.

Barry
Takahashi, UHMC club team manager stated after the contest, “That was a well
played game on both sides – Team Pono really battled – our next match up in
August against them will be even tougher.”

When asked
about the club program, Takahashi noted, “Our goal this season isrecruit and train student athletes to
win and demonstrate how a team from Maui, made up of UHMC students, can be very
successful, on and off the diamond.”

Takahashi
noted that demonstrating success is important to build credibility in order to
secure preseason contests against UH Hilo’s and Hawaii Pacific’s
intercollegiate teams, in the near future.“This,” Takahashi said, “is a key step for club programs to help
establish intercollegiate sports for UHMC.”

The Maui
Open baseball league in the summer is a very good start for the UHMC Club team
to get their feet wet however, the vision for the club is to also have them
host and travel to tournaments in the fall and spring, against other collegiate
club teams.

“We have
contacted over 40 baseball clubs on the west coast and the response has been
good – some are interested in coming over for spring tournaments while some
have invited us to series or tournaments on the Mainland.”

University of Illinois & MarquetteUniversity, both 2012 EA Sports Maui
Invitational Basketball participants, have expressed interest in coming in
November for a tournament. Marquette has also invited UHMC’s club to
their 2013 Miller Park Tournament, home of the Milwaukee Brewers.

“Cal State
Long Beach is interested in coming here for a Spring Break tournament. UC Santa
Barbara invited UHMC to their 2013 Carnival Classic, and University of San Diego and NorthernArizonaUniversity are interested in us visiting them
next spring.”

Because
this is a club program, most of the travel expenses are the responsibility of
the members and backers.While they
gladly accept donations, they are not waiting around for something to happen;
they are doing something for the community - UHMC players and staff are raising
funds the rest of July by conducting baseball camps in Kihei at Hitters
Paradise from 8-11am Monday thru Friday for boys and girls ages 8 to 14 years
old. “Hitters Paradise has been a huge help in getting the
club program going by working with us in allowing our club members to make full
use of their great training facility.”

The
ultimate anchor for the club would be a field where Takahashi said he and his
staff could train and prepare members daily without distraction.“We have discussed securing, grooming and
improving a flat piece of land in the central Maui area conducive for a UHMC club baseball
and softball program.””The clubs would
put in the labor to groom the field and take care of the grass and surface. We
would find fencing, seating and restrooms and put it up ourselves for our fans
and guests. We would aim to host tournaments at this field and share it with
youth leagues in the summer when baseball fields are at a premium on Maui.”

Takahashi
said, “You know that line from the movie ‘Field of Dreams’ with Kevin Costner, “If
you build it, they will come?”Well,
that’s how UH Manoa and UH Hilo began their trek to their current
NCAA status.Their intercollegiate
programs were started by Coach Les Murakami at Manoa then Coach Joey Estrella
at Hilo as club teams, pretty much playing
in a sandlot.“It’s a good time for us to
begin pursuing our own field of dreams.“